How 'Game of Thrones' actress Gwendoline Christie became the first female Stormtrooper

Gwendoline Christie at San Diego Comic-Con. Michael Buckner/Getty Gwendoline Christie, best known as the indomitable Brienne of Tarth on "Game of Thrones," is the feminist hero you're looking for.

Later this year, the Sussex-born actress appears as the first female Stormtrooper in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." She joins another blockbuster franchise this holiday season via "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2."

In honor of Christie's breakout success, we're taking a look back at her meteoric rise to fame.

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Born October 28, 1978, Gwendoline Christie grew up in the countryside of Sussex, England.

In author George R.R. Martin's "A Song Of Ice And Fire," Brienne is a female knight who fights valiantly, demands respect from her male peers, and gives herself fully to those who earn her loyalty.

The series' fans threw their support in online forums behind casting Christie for the role. She took to Twitter to lobby — hard.

"I wanted the part so very badly because from reading the books the character was so like elements of myself," Christie says. "I've not come across a part like this before, whereby the complexities of being an extremely tall woman are explored."

Christie worked with director J.J. Abrams to carve out the character. The armor, she says, allows her to focus on body language and voice, not looking beautiful.

It felt familiar. "I don't think many female actors get the opportunity to play a part where they're not having to think about the way their face looks," Christie says, "but I found exactly the same thing with Brienne of Tarth, and that was very liberating."